The exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a power reconnect and voltage protection device that adapts load equipment to multiple types of input power sources. It finds particular application in conjunction with adapting a transportable robotic welding cell to a variety of input power sources, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
There are multiple types of electrical power that may be provided by public electrical utilities or locally generated for operating equipment in residential or commercial environments. For example, some exemplary types of three phase electrical power may have nominal voltage levels of 208-240 Vac, 480 Vac, 600 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level. Additionally, single phase electrical power may be provided at a nominal voltage level of 208-240 Vac, 480 Vac, 600 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level.
Load devices may be rated to operate on three phase electrical power at nominal voltage levels of 200 Vac, 208 Vac, 230 Vac, 208-230 Vac, 200-240 Vac, 460 Vac, 575 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level. These load devices may be desired to be located in an environment already having three phase electrical power at some nominal voltage other than the rated voltage. This typically leaves one with two alternatives: 1) providing three phase electrical power at the rated voltage or 2) providing an equivalent load device rated for the three phase electrical power that is currently available.
Additionally, load devices may be rated to operate on single phase electrical power at nominal voltage levels of 200 Vac, 208 Vac, 230 Vac, 208-230 Vac, 200-240 Vac, or some other nominal voltage level. These load devices may be desired to be located in an environment already having single phase electrical power at some nominal voltage other than the rated voltage. This typically leaves one with three alternatives: 1) providing single phase electrical power at the rated voltage, 2) providing an equivalent load device rated for the single phase electrical power that is currently available, or 3) forego using the load device in the desired environment.
For example, commercial equipment, such as a transportable robotic welding cell, may be rated to operate on either three phase or single phase electrical power, for example, using a nominal voltage of 200-240 Vac+10%/−15% or some other nominal voltage level and/or range. If the equipment is rated to operate on three phase electrical power, one may find, for example, that only 480 Vac/3Ø, 600 Vac/3Ø, or some other nominal voltage level outside the rated range is currently available. If the equipment is rated to operate on single phase electrical power, one may find, for example, that only 480 Vac/1Ø, 600 Vac/1Ø, or some other nominal voltage outside the rated range is currently available. Under these circumstances, the commercial equipment owner may have to purchase multiple models of the same equipment just so he/she can operate the equipment in the desired location. Some other alternative are to pay a public electrical utility to install the required electrical power, purchase a generator to provide the required electrical power, or forego using the equipment in desired environment.
Accordingly, there is a need for an adapter that can be reconfigured in order to interface equipment with multiple nominal voltages for input power sources that may be available in residential or commercial environments. This is particularly needed for transportable equipment and other equipment that may be re-located from time to time to different environments that may have different nominal voltages for input power sources.